More Fun Than Should Be Legal

My New R1 On Turn 1 at Miller Motor Sports Park

What is it like to accelerate a superbike to over 150 mph, grab a handful of break lever then into a turn at 70 mph plus, and do it safely? I got to find that out at last month at Miller Motorsports Complex in Tooele Utah.

Yamaha and our local Cycle City Yamaha sponsored several local riders to participate. Riders from all over the country arrived at the annual Yamaha Appreciation Day September 27th & 28th. I met many motorcycle road-racing enthusiasts who came to ride at the home of the World Superbike series in America.

The day started out with a trip to bike inspection, all machines were checked for safety and received a sticker that allowed you to enter the track. Right after that a trip to the Pirelli tent was in order for a new set of racing tires that stick like glue and are rated for 200 mph. They selected the soft compound 2 for the rear and 3 for the front. After that the bike was wheeled over to the suspension guru with the Yamaha racing folks for a complete set up after the weight and riding positions were analyzed. He reminded us to visit him after each session for tweaks. I was starting to feel very gearhead pampered at this point, I loved it.

"If you run out of gas on the track you will be paraded through the paddock with our pink helmet of shame, complete with a pink bunny on top!" we were told at the riders meeting by the organizers Zoom Zoom Trackdays (Z2) who officiated the event for Yamaha. We were basically told that stupid people would participate in a one way conversation and depending on their response, would go home or ride politely from then on. I liked this more and more.

Turning 60 next March has me self exiled in the beginner class. Crashing is definitely and option for an event like this and I was taking no chances. We started with a 20 minute classroom session where our lead instructor giving us a preview of the corners. Each corner, 1 thru 23, will become learned before pushing the speeds including alternate lines through each. The way the track was set up we skipped turns 6 thru 12. They all have nicknames and as the day progressed we all started to refer to them with their nicknames like the Attitudes and Sunset.

The first session on the track, I was soooo pumped. I used my usual self talk before any event, "Start slow then taper off." For someone who is hyper competitive, this is a good drill, this keeps me right at my limit. Most riders who are destined to do something stupid, do it on the first lap. If I remind myself to ride slow I am usually riding at about 80% of my ability, that's a good speed to ride very safely. Every one is different and some need to remind themselves to go faster, my brain doesn't work that way.

As we sat there a number of club racers pulled up from the paddock and we were put into groups of 3 and took turns following one of the instructors at a very slow but precise pace around the track to learn the primary lines for the corners. This is a great way to get rid of the jitters and calm down for the rest of the day. You have never seen more smiles in your life than at the end of the session when everyone takes their helmet off.

Each session was followed with a 20 minute school where we talked about the next session. We were on our own for the second session. I started to calm down a bit this session as I started to learn the corners. Some of them required more trust in your machine than others. Turn 7 was an especially fast right hander with a big breaking exercise at the end then a sharp left hand. My R1 was working flawlessly and I started to appreciate the trickle down technology from their Moto GP and World Superbike competition. These machines are a marvel at the very least and where else can someone on a tight budget afford to ride a world class machine and get treated like a real racing superstar for a couple of days.

I just comfortably rode the straight away the first time down then realized I had hit 120 in a blink of an eye. These bikes are just that good, with an easy click through the gears and into 6th. There was a breaking signal on the track surface for turn 1 on the straight then number counting down about every 10 yards from 4 to 1. Leaning into turn 1 about 40 for first time and having the bike stick like glue was beyond fun. By day two I was hitting 75 with plenty of safety to spare.

My goal was to ride at 80 percent and no more. I don't believe in accidents; awareness, preparation and restraint are the keys to survival. This included using only maintenance throttle for the turns, no stress on the traction of the tires until the turn was finished. I started to ride strictly for the entrance speed for the next corner, except on the straight (it was just too tempting), for the first 5 sessions.

Riding without brakes; that was a method I learned from an instructor years earlier to learn a new track. This really makes you concentrate on the entrance speed. I started to catch the slower riders struggling with harsh breaking at the end of the smaller straights and smoothed out my lines. A few more session of this and I started to enter the turns at greater and greater speed and it seemed like I was going slower.

One of the instructors flashes by me on a straight and tucks in right in front of me to show me some alternate lines. With each lap they start to increase the speed and the real learning starts as you get to watch these great riders do it perfectly. Shifting body weight from side to side, called transitioning, is so easy to do with someone right in front doing it correctly. With earplugs its like a slow motion film as you transition from one corner to the other.

As the day progressed I noticed the tires wearing further and further to the edge as my cornering improved. At the end of the second day it was all the way to the edge and the rubber was rolling off in balls as my turning speed and skills improved. By the end of the event my riding had improved by 200 percent and I was still pretty slow compared to the instructors.

The last few sessions I pushed the faster button on the computer control for the bike. The new R1 has fly by wire technology and the throttle is only a suggestion to the computer. Before I new it my speeds were hitting the high 150's on the straight with little or no effort. The brakes had no objection to a hard stop from that speed. I had expected the brake pads to be scorched and worn looking and after inspecting them they looked brand new. I hadn't even begun to stress the bike. I was probably pushing it at 50 to 60 percent of the R1's capability. The computer readout on the instrument panel indicates how the computer is throttling the bike. Sometimes I had a few milliseconds to glance at it, it was usually at the 30 to 50 percent range and occasionally hit the limit on the one long straight.

Riding at what seemed a slow pace the last session to make sure I ended on a successful note. I started passing more and more riders. My concentration was at its best and I felt alive as any one could. Things seemed slower and slower but I kept passing more and more riders. These moments happen every now and then and I was at the top of my game at that moment. I wasn't riding fast compared to younger pros or club racers but for me it was a blistering pace that was effortless.

Entering whatever arena floats your boat is the what it's all about, feeling yourself at your best and doing something as well as your abilities, should be every ones goal. A lesson learned from my Junior High track coach that formed an important part of my persona, there is always a little bit more you can achieve with effort and thinking.